To contact us
You are not alone

Go Back To:

This page is printer-friendly

Go Across To:

You are not alone

There is much high quality information available from high quality web-sites.  The best information is available from what I call ‘formal’ sites that are sponsored by governments (United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and USA - links are shown)’  These sites show the large numbers of people who suffer psychological problems, and talk about recommended treatment options.  Importantly:
      if you are a sufferer, then you are not alone.
To ‘feel’ that you’re not alone, talk to a psychologist.  All the information on this page should confirm for you - you are not alone.  The  links page will take you to additional pages.

Depression

Mental disorders are common throughout the world - including Australia.  Statistics are similar in each western country.

  • Approximately 22% of those 18 and older (about 1 in 5 adults) suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
  • 4 of the 10 leading causes of disability developed countries are mental disorders - major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  • Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time.
  • Almost 10% of those 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder.
  • Nearly twice as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder each year.
  • With women a major cause of depression is the inability to express or handle Anger.
  • Depression affects all people regardless of age, geographic location, demographic or social position.
  • 50 years ago the average age of onset of Depressive disorders was 29, but is now averaging at just 14.5yrs.

Childhood Depression

  • Up to 2.5 % of children in the United States suffer from depression.
  • In 1997, suicide was the leading cause of death of 10 to 24-year-olds.  All too often suicide is the result of extended periods of depression.
  • An early diagnosis can help children in their emotional, social and behavioral development but can also be hard to detect or masked by other factors.
  • Doctors may be reluctant to put a label of mental illness on a young child.
  • Bipolar disorder in children has been investigated in children as young as 6 years old.

Clinical Depression

  • Major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and established market economies worldwide.
  • Major depressive disorder affects approximately 9.9 million American adults, or about 5.0 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.
  • Nearly twice as many women (6.5 percent) as men (3.3 percent) suffer from major depressive disorder each year. These figures translate to 6.7 million women and 3.2 million men.
  • While major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the average age at onset is the mid-20s.

Mental Health Statistics

Anxiety - One Year Prevalence - USA

Mental Challenge

USA Percent

Any Anxiety Disorder

13.3%

Panic Disorder

1.7%

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

2.3%

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

3.6%

Any Phobias

8.0%

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

2.8%

The figures are similar in all countries that record such data

Postpartum Depression

  • Studies report prevalence rates from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual prevalence rate unclear.
  • Postpartum depression ranges in severity from mild to suicidal.
  • Postpartum depression (also postnatal depression) is a form of major depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, after childbirth.
  • Although up to 80% of postpartum women suffer from the 'Baby blues' (or maternity blues) which is merely a mild and transitory form of 'moodiness' where symptoms typically last from a few hours to several days, and include tearfulness, irritability, hypochondriasis, sleeplessness, impairment of concentration, isolation and headache. The maternity blues are not considered a postpartum depressive disorder.

Panic Disorder

  • Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress.
    These sensations often feel like a heart attack or other life-threatening medical condition.
  • Approximately 1.7 percent of people 18 to 54 have panic disorder.
  • Panic disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood.

If left untreated, people with panic disorder can become fearful about places or situations where panic attacks have occurred, that they become housebound - afraid of being in any place or situation where escape might be difficult or help unavailable in the event of a panic attack .  This is called ‘agoraphobia’.  About 1 in 3 people with panic disorder develop agoraphobia.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD may develop from a terrifying event or ordeal that a person has experienced, witnessed or learned about, especially one that is Life threatening or causes physical harm. This traumatic experience causes the person to feel intense fear, horror or a sense of helplessness. The stress caused by trauma can affect all aspects of a person's life including mental, emotional and physical well being.

  • During any given year, about 3.6% of people aged 18 to 54 will exhibit the symptoms of PTSD.
  • PTSD can develop at any age, including childhood.
  • Nearly everyone who is exposed to an extremely frightening situation is affected by the experience. PTSD is diagnosed only if the symptoms last more than a month.
  • Alcohol abuse is the most common symptom of PTSD in men, occurring in about 52 percent of those with the disorder.
  • Depression is the most common symptom among female PTSD sufferers, being diagnosed in 48 percent of cases.
  • The overall likelihood of a person developing PTSD during the whole of life is about 8 percent for men and 10 percent for women.

Specific Phobia

Specific Phobia involves marked and persistent fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation including heights, flying, darkness, thunder, closed spaces, using public toilets, dentistry, the sight of blood or injury, or the fear of exposure to specific diseases. Contact with the trigger situation can evoke a panic attack, the seriousness of which depends on how easy it is for the sufferer to avoid the phobic situation.

  • Approximately 4.4 percent of people aged 18 to 54 will in any given year have some type of specific phobia.
  • Specific phobias usually arise in childhood or early adult life and can persist for decades if they remain untreate

Hypochondriasis

A term generally used in a demeaning way, but describes a very common phenomenon.  When someone is anxious about symptoms and ailments that have no physiological origin, it is called ‘somatic symptoms’.  If the concern happens over a long time (becomes chronic) and the person is fearful of having a disease, but is not to the point of being delusional, then it is termed ‘hypochondriasis’.

General and comprehensive information